The present invention relates to poultry broiler cages, and more particularly to a poultry broiler cage having elongated confinement areas including floors movable longitudinally thereof.
One type of tiered poultry cage includes several elongated confinement areas positioned one directly above the other. Each confinement area includes a floor movable longitudinally with respect to the confinement area. Often the floors are formed into an endless loop configuration so that the floor material is movable between an operative, poultry-supporting position and an inverted, lower, inoperative position. When chicks are to be introduced into a confinement area, that floor is positioned in the inverted, inoperative position and while being moved to the operative position chicks are placed on the belt and thereby carried into the area. Watering and feeding devices are included in the confinement area to support the poultry during confinement. After all the chicks are loaded, the floor remains stationary until the broilers are to be withdrawn at which time the floor is driven from the operative to the inoperative position during which the broilers are transported out of the confinement area for subsequent shipment and processing.
Although these cages have many advantages, known systems also suffer several disadvantages. First, the flexible materials used for the floor material to facilitate the passage of droppings therethrough must be supported at a plurality of positions along the length of the material to prevent excessive sagging due to the weight of the poultry. Typically, this support is provided by bars extending under the floor material transverse to the direction of floor movement and carried on rollers in guide rails. This construction is relatively complicated and consequently expensive. Further, the pulling forces exerted on the endless loop to move the floor are borne entirely by the floor material, and since these pulling forces can be quite large when the floor is fully loaded with grown poultry broilers, stretching and/or damage to the floor material results or otherwise a strong and consequently expensive material is required. Further, because the material bears the full longitudinal force required to move the floor, perforations in the material allowing droppings to pass therethrough must be relatively small or few in number so as not to substantially weaken the material. However, this leads to excessive dropping accumulation on the floor, leading to breast blistering of the poultry and unsanitary conditions.
Second, each floor is typically driven by its own motor. As a practical matter, because all of the tiers terminate in a common open end of the battery, only one tier may be loaded or unloaded at a time. Consequently, the inclusion of one motor for each driven floor unnecessarily increases the cost of the cage.
Third, each tier must be provided with an access door through which poultry is introduced into and removed from the confinement area. However, because each floor is movable between an operative position and a lower, inoperative position, the door for each tier below the upper tier interferes with the movement of the floor immediately above as it passes into its inoperative position. To my knowledge, this problem has not been solved without creating another problem; for example the escape of poultry through any space between the door and the floor belt when the battery is loaded and the floor above it is in its operative confinement position.